Wednesday, May 21, 2014

VA HEALTH CARE IS UNFAIR

The scandal in the Veterans Administration caused me to ask a bigger question. As a liberal, I find that I am against the Veteran Administration Hospital program for one reason; it is ONLY for all veterans. Because of the all-inclusive nature of the program, some consider health care for veterans to be a liberal program but they are wrong because it is not. It is just the opposite; the weak and infirm cannot serve in the military because their physical condition excludes them from serving; therefore, the people in society who need health care the most are excluded from the VA health care system. Thus, VA health care is certainly a form of socialized medicine but it is a grossly unfair system. It is the Ayn Rand system; the ones who have get more. The government has singled out a segment of society for special treatment. For the people to considered socialized programs of any kind, above all else the program must treat everyone equally.

There is no argument that people who suffered because they served their country deserve every consideration. If they sustained life long injuries while in uniform such as from brain trauma, Agent Orange, radiation injury, or asbestos they deserve life long care—no question about it. There always will be arguments about what caused someone’s cancer, for example, but individual cases could be resolvable in a way I would expect that favored veteran. Nevertheless, when I look at my own case, I see a problem. I am a naval “combat” veteran along with 317 other sailors on the same ship. We were the target of North Korea guns that actually shot at us but failing to hit us; the point is that we were in a war zone along with dozens and perhaps hundreds of other ships; therefore, I assume all veterans on those ships were eligible for admission to veteran’s health care—why? Does everyone of the thousands of us all deserve life long health care because we were on a ship in a war zone? Worse yet, do those deserve health care because they were in uniform but not in a war zone. Should we all be so grateful to a Republican or Democrat politician for “taking care of us veterans" that we will vote for them for that reason? Of course, there were severely injured service men and women that deserve lifelong health care but, by far, most of us do not.


I am sick of hearing some politician tell me our veterans need the best of everything because we “bravely served our country”. I had the best experience in my life for four years, had the privilege of serving my county, and was proud to do so. I should add, I do not feel any ill will toward those who take advantage of the Veteran Administration Health Care system even though they do not really deserve it. It is just that I feel I have already received more from the government than I deserved in compensation. The Navy trained me in electronics and I went to college on the GI bill after serving something I could not have done without that help. The GI bill, like the VA program, is a social program that allows young people to go to college or advanced training that leads to productive lives. I avoid going to the VA for healthcare because I do not have to. As a liberal, I believe that as citizens of the richest country in the world, everyone, veteran or not, should have health care if they need it just as everyone should have free K-PhD education—if they have the desire and ability—that in my mind is only fair! It is simply unfair to pay all that tax money for political expediency.      

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